Things have not gone too well for the third-strongest party in the federal parliament so far this year. Leader Heinz-Christian Strache has come under fire from several high-ranking FPÖ officials for nominating Barbara Rosenkranz as the party’s presidential candidate. The ultra-conservative mother-of-ten garnered a paltry 15 per cent of the overall vote in the April ballot won by incumbent President Heinz Fischer, a former Social Democratic (SPÖ) president of the federal parliament. Political analysts claimed ahead of the election the FPÖ would have fared better nominating Strache as such a step would have helped it to increase in popularity despite his non-existent chances of winning the election.
Rumour has it that Strache actually opposed the nomination of Rosenkranz, but was pressed by influential party board members to pick her. It will be a "make or break" autumn for the party headed by late BZÖ founder Jörg Haider as Styrians (26 September) and Viennese (10 October) head to the polls. The FPÖ is expected to gain in both ballots after poor showings in the 2005 provincial elections which took place months after its federal ministers left to join Haider’s new party. Strache admitted wanting to become mayor of Vienna someday, with the federal chancellorship to follow. Election experts have however claimed the FPÖ might do less well than expected in upcoming elections if it continues to focus solely on aggressive campaigning against "criminal immigrants".
Austrian Times